A little over two months ago, our world was turned upside-down, inside-out. The Philippines, along with the rest of the world went on lockdown. Suddenly, because of Covid-19, we were shut inside our homes unable to leave in order to halt the spread of the virus and give our hospitals, health services and government breathing space to respond to those getting sick. We all complied because as citizens, we knew, that is the least we can do to help.
But of course, this sudden change in our day-to-day lives came with consequences and additional worries outside of whether we’re going to get infected by the virus. With some businesses shut down, on hold, at smaller operating capacity, we find ourselves asking, “what’s my employment status going to look like in the near future?” Forced to work at home, with children to home school as well, “how do I balance my time?” As a daily wage earner, “where and when will I get my next paycheck? How do I feed my family?” Economic concerns are topmost in everyone’s mind because of the lockdown no doubt, but the toll on everyone’s mental health and well-being is as big a concern for the individual, the community, the nation as we navigate our way through this pandemic.
This is why PVP (Premier Value Provider, Inc.) decided to conduct an online survey to “determine the impact of the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) on the mental health of Filipino employees.” The survey looked into the STRESS, ANXIETY, and DEPRESSION levels of the respondents. A total of 450 employees responded to our survey from May 5 to May 16, and the numbers are quite alarming.
The data below show that a substantial percentage of respondents were experiencing critical levels (severe or extremely severe) of
STRESS --- 15%
ANXIETY --- 29%
DEPRESSION --- 21%
Millennials and Gen Zs were most affected.
Employees who work from home during the ECQ reported higher levels of anxiety and depression compared to those who worked on-site or combination of both WFH and WOS.
Critical Levels (severe or extremely severe) for those who Work from Home:
STRESS --- 16%
ANXIETY --- 31%
DEPRESSION --- 22%
The long-term effects on our workforce’s mental health and well-being brought about by this crisis cannot be stressed enough. Especially since majority of our country’s workforce belong to the Millennials and GenZ and will be the backbone of our economic growth in the near future. While companies may be focused more right now in the operational part of getting their business back on track with the easing up of quarantine restrictions, they should not forget that in order to bounce back, they need an organization that’s mentally healthy and sound.
In our next article, we look into what specific factors have had significant effects on the mental health of employees.
*For more information, visit https://www.pvpi.co/summary-report for the full technical report or email us at alhinto@pvpi.ph
*PVP’s Listening Room is your company’s direct access to a mental health professional who can help your employees if they feel they need someone to talk to.
*On June 23-25, PVP will be conducting an Online Seminar-Workshop on Designing and Developing Mental Health Programs in the Workplace
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